Armored Core: Valiance
by Esperante
Summary: This story takes place in the Armored Core 5 Universe and although this is a slow start, I want the public to feel more for the character before getting into the real fun. But before I can get into the real fun, I'd like see what you all think because if I can please those with the boring stuff, I'd like for you to look more forward to the unfolding drama of Armored Core. :)


**Armored Core: Valiance **

Prologue: Year 386. Three hundred and eighty six years…and mankind hasn't learned its lesson. Three hundred and eighty six years ago the world was a much different place that we know of today. We nearly wiped ourselves out as countries we're ruled by actual organized governments but certain nations across the oceans we're ruled by those with harmful intent to bring the world into chaos. The nations of the Northern Frontier knew what they had to do, but this would lead to mutual assured destruction. And in one fell stroke, nuclear arsenals we're launched from every major nation across the globe until every just stopped shooting. Fortunately for us however, corporations which sought to remain came up with a plan for mankind's survival and for over 200 years, we lived underneath the earth…and that's when they came. The first of many Dominants. Dominants we're a collective of highly skilled pilots that stood out amongst Raven's. Mercenary pilots of one of the world's most iconic fighting vehicle, the Armored Core. A Raven set mankind free from the subterranean world the corporations of the past looked to keep us in, but today…that's a different story. It was said that amongst these mercenaries, eventually a dominant rises above many but even amongst dominants…one can still dominate them all. This Raven…was known as a Dark Raven. A bringer of death and destruction whose very presence is prelude to the first horseman himself. Despite the name however, many throughout history have proven they fight for the greater good. To set mankind free. But you however class, you don't live in quite the same world anymore. You all are mercenaries now. One day, you are going to work with each other. And the next day contracted to pitted against each other. The choice is always yours however to make the decision to take actions that will lead to the type of history that got us here in the first place, or fight for a future greater than your own selfish ambition. Class of 386, dismissed.

"_And with that, a group of 30 or so young men and women stand at attention and formation and begin exiting the room filled with desks and chairs. A master table sitting in the corner of the room with a tall, quite muscle-bound man turning away from his newfound students of war. One particular young man, sitting nearly all the way in the back however adjusts himself and his baggage and turns to face his class; gazing upon each of his classmates as if trying to remember their faces. This young man with silvery feathered hair and a blue, thin bandana wrapped around his forehead and lost in his hair grips his bags tightly, takes a deep breath and begins to make his way out his class." _

"You alright there, son?" the Middle aged veteran says, placing his hand over the young man's shoulder firmly.

-"I'm sorry commander, I was just thinking about what you lectured. It's one aspect about what Raven's do that always disturbed me."

"Ailes, you gotta understand…that's just the nature of the beast. Come over here right quick." The commander says, beckoning Ailes over to his desk and meticulously looking through some of the files in his cabinet. He then takes upon a manila folder and tosses it on the desk; the sound of the impact slightly startling Ailes at attention.

"Seraphin Ailes…aced every operations and legal binding tests. Passed every mechanics and field operations courses and even though I shouldn't be telling you this, your final combat test was without merely a scratch on your AC. You are the single reason why I won a bet with the other commanders and instructors."

-"A bet, sir?"

"Yeah, I told everyone I'd get more people than anyone else to pass…to be a Raven. On one hand I'm proud of everyone for getting so many people to join the ranks, but on the other…I nearly lost out on one thousand credits. But hey, beer's will be on me tonight anyways am I right?" the commander states as he has a little chuckle to himself. However the break in humor doesn't unease Seraphin.

-"Commander Tristan, what's this have to do with anything? The exams I mean."

"You're the great grandson of Eland and Remille Ailes. Two of some of the finest pilots on history. They helped shape the future for not just Earth…but Mars as well. And here over 100 years later, their latest descendant sits in front of me. In my classroom. Everyone whose ever stepped foot here wants to be a Raven because even one decent mission is enough to set someone up for life, yet we have career's here that are neck-deep in credits not because their trying to make the world a better place, but the thrill of battle. That's what drives them. Some of the most savage, violent, yet expert pilots the Nest has ever known even by today's standards are here because they don't care about what happens to the world. They don't care how many of their friends died, they care about the Bill and the Thrill. Majority of this class, statistically speaking will walk away after no more than 3 missions. Some of them are going to end up killing each other to no fault of their own beyond who hired them and bad luck on whose gonna be met up on the battlefield. But you? You're here for a reason beyond all that. You stand out like a sore thumb to everyone and honestly you better watch your back because little do you know, some of these other kids in here have their eyes set on you. They see you as a threat and I can tell you when you do well as a merc, and corporations see you as a threat they don't just put a bounty on your head kid, they pleasure in the idea of bringing down a once-thought badass. So again…why are you in my class room?"

Chapter 1: Graduation Day

"Well Commander…it kinda started back at the scrapyard I lived at." Seraphin says. The commander comes around the desk, whips a chair just behind Seraphin, gestures to have a seat while retreating to have a seat himself. Seraphin hesitates for a moment but takes his seat and tries to relax more in front of the hardened pilot.

"It started back at the yard you know, I've been a grease monkey for a long as I remember. To tell you the truth I used to hate the idea of being related to my real parents because, well you know I'm adopted. I never knew my parents beyond what the folks at home told me which was my dad was an armored core pilot. My mom, I really don't know what happened to her. They we're both really young."

-"And you aren't kid? 16 years old, hell you aren't even old enough to be sitting in front of me and the only reason I took you serious is because everyone else did. But hey, you do your stuff and I won't complain, but continue." Commander Tristan states as he interrupts for a moment.

"Well my folks, you know they we're mechanics and taught me everything I know. We had a lot of old muscle-tracers out in the yard and AC parts so we'd fix'm up and use them around the yard. We got a lot of property out in that desert and the whole area was littered with junk, scrap, god knows what else. So when I got old enough to start helping out, they taught me how to run these things. I just got real used to walking around in big heavy robots. Even though I was working my ass off, I didn't feel like work it was just fun all the time for me but…being poor all the time, being home schooled…I didn't want that kind of life."

-"But that isn't really why you're here Seraphin…"

"Sir, you can call me Sera. It's alright."

-"Alright Sera…so what are you and your buddy 'really' doing here?"

Sera takes a moment, looking down but not really focusing on anything and looks back up at Tristan with a stern look.

"My parents back at the canyon always talked about moving to one of the islands near the southern frontier but that's when I told them it would never happen living the way we did. I didn't realize what I had said at that moment but when it hit me, I figured I made a point to them they simply didn't want to accept. Truth be told, that's when they felt I was old enough to be told about what my name really meant. That's when they told me about my fore parents…my real parents…being armored core pilots. I didn't care at first about any of it but then it hit me. My ancestors at this point did everything they could to help shape the future. They sacrificed everything. And my parents back at home? They sacrificed everything just to have a family…who am I not to do the same? I don't plan to have a family so I figure I might as well do what I can to shape the future."

The commander rocks back and forth in his chair slightly with a serious look, sucks his tooth and then leans forward to Sera.

"You know, this isn't the first time I've heard speeches like this. But the first time I heard it, I had a 55mm Battle rifle pointed at my AC. Poor bastard didn't realize a pulse gun is more effective at the range he pointed the damn thing at me with though. Point is, I didn't care or take him serious at all because he had a reputation for selling out his buddies, and not giving a damn about who he worked for or how he went about it. I don't much care for pilots like that, despite the fact majority of them turn out like that and people who try to have your attitude either wash out or end up the first one dead. You on the other hand, I can see it. The other instructors can see it too, they just don't wanna have any faith in anyone. Kind of an unwritten rule we all keep to ourselves. Now I want you to go out there. Enjoy your ceremony, go say your goodbyes before you start taken up jobs and getting assigned to teams but something I want you to know Sera…when you're out there, regardless of who you know your locking onto, don't hesitate to squeeze the trigger. This really is a Kill or Be Killed operation. And lord knows, we need a guy like you for others to look up to. You're a young cat, you got a lot of ambition, but positive ambition. I can respect that more than anything else I've seen around this place."

Suddenly a knock at the door interrupts the conversation, and a brawny, dark-haired fellow in uniform stands at the doorway looking at Sera with the most excited look on his face. He motions joyfully at Sera and Sera's stern look turns into a bright smile, but they never really say a word to each other, however Sera sharply turns around to look at the commander and the other recruit stands at attention and salutes.

"At ease Raven. You head on out before you miss the graduation, gotta make this official and shit, you know how that works." The commander states while getting up from his desk and situating his attire. Sera gets up, and gives him a mild salute and dismisses himself and walks over to the other recruit.

"Oh my god, you did it man?!" Sera whispers to his comrade while giving him the tall, built fellow a big hug and putting his arm around his shoulder.

-"Damn right I did. I blew that test AC to bits. But I wouldn't have gotten ANYWHERE without your little cheat-sheet for other exams. I'm in your graduating class!"

"That's fantastic Dusk, I'm proud of you man! You know what this means? We can take operations together. Keep watch over each other's backs and such. Army of two with our fighting tactics haha." Sera says, excited as they exit the room accompanied by bright smiles and excitement permeating the environment with other recruits in sharp, black and gold uniform quickly making their way around the hall way.

"_In the main hall of the military compound, hundreds of new recruits stand tall in front of a large auditorium with many friends and family watching as they make the Raven's oath in front of the head of the Raven's nest while corporate figures and heads of men and women in suits look onward. Prospecting the potential candidates and honoring the new faces that will be seen around the Raven's nest. Shortly after, each individual begins to walk across the stage to receive their awards, badges, and only 3 pilots receive the Belt of Excellence for their exceptional piloting skills and prowess during training, Seraphin Ailes being one of them. Dusk Eschleshon's names called and he walks up the stage, accepting his awards and standing firm next to Seraphin with huge smiles across their faces as the auditorium roars in praise for the brave new men and women who are forever known as Raven's. The ceremony end's and a large feast provided by Sirius welcomes everyone as they begin to talk and mingle amongst each other. Dusk and Seraphin however stand outside however with beers in hand and talking among each other into the night sky, looking on into the garage facility where their armored cores await them." _

"It was nuts though, I made some last minute modifications to the tank, and you we're right; adding that H.E.A.T cannon at closer range was just devastating to that AC. It just went 'BOOM!' all over the place. Parts scattered into oblivion man!" Dusk emphasis with an obvious adrenaline rush from his battle at the test arena.

-"Yeah you gotta remember, the effect range on those cannons are sneaky. It's a heavy round that doesn't drop out the sky as fast as you think, but it doesn't move very fast neither. You can see them coming a mile away but without the right resistances built, it's a death sentence at close range."

"So Sera…we're going to have to get call signs buddy. What do you have in mind? I'm just gonna be weird like I normally am and go with 'Shadix'."

-"Shadix? Really? That's the best you got. Hah!"

"Well I don't see you coming up with anything better, Mr. Blue Rag for a Do-Rag!" Dusk says, while taking another mouthful of his beer.

-"I was actually going to go with my great great grandfather's old call sign, Archangel. Names have to be about symbolism you know? Makes you stand out. His name was Michael, and if you're familiar with the Bible, Michael was an Archangel. Seraphin, my name…is the leader of angels." Sera says while slowly looking down with the excited smile he once had disappearing. Dusk looks on, and takes another big swig of his beer finishing it off and wiping his chin.

"You know, you with all this symbolism. And hanging onto the past…you sure that's a good thing for you? The past can be painful, can drive you to…you know. Do things like this." Dusk says while preparing to take another swig of his beer, realizing the bottles empty and tossing the bottle in an open trashcan nearby.

-"The past only hurts when you regret it. The only part about it I regret is not getting to know my family how I should. But that's nothing to run away from buddy, I gotta grow up sometime. I should take bride in it and wear it like a badge of honor. I don't know very much about my family but not everything's about doing what they did or necessarily honoring the past by following it. But more like…honoring it by succeeding. Isn't that the goal of all predecessor's? To see their future kin do better than they did?"

"I think you put entirely too much thought into that buddy. But hell, who am I to judge? Had it not been for what comes out of your head, we wouldn't be having this conversation in these uniforms, at least I wouldn't." Dusk says while opening another beer and taking a huge drink.

"So we ship out tomorrow…any idea where we should set up shop?"

-"Actually my folk's old place will do just fine. They moved out to the Southern frontier isles." Sera responds, causing Dusk to pause in the middle of his next drink and look over sharply.

"The hell? How'd they afford to go there?!"

-" I've been saving all my credits since training and when I got this excellence with honors uh…well they give you a lot more than your Training Graduation pay."

"How much did they give you?!"

"Hehe…an extra 80,000 credits…" Sera smiles and looks on, with a laugh just prepared to exit.

-"Good God man! Where's my money at?! A good 10k would have been PERFECT for me to afford that other auto-cannon for the left arm you know!" Dusk yells, animated and grasping his bottle of beer tightly while Sera bursts out laughing hysterically.

"I had this all planned out man, come on. Can you blame me really? My family wanted to live in the isles of the Southern frontier, I got'm a place out there and moved them there. They gave us the scrapyard but I had all the scrap cleared out before graduation so that'll be our base of operations."

-"Eeh, I guess it's better than nothing or working with some of these other guys." Dusk says while looking on to other recruits exiting the compound and talking amongst themselves in the distance.

"It's actually better than most garages you'd start off with. I've already got all the tools you'd ever need; both precision and large scale for heavy arms and equipment. I worked around AC's and MT's all day for a living before running into your ass, remember? If we want to modify or repair our AC's, we have a perfectly secluded location already premade and no cost to us. That's a Huge advantage no one else will have." Sera emphasis and Dusk nods in agreement.

-"So what did you name her?"

"Name what?"

-"Your AC duh. You're so passionate about the past, and symbolism you got to have a name for that P.O.S they start us off with in there." Dusk states as he nods his head in the direction of the open doors to the garage.

"Well I didn't plan to name it until I've finished putting her together. I've already ordered parts for her though and have them sent over at the garage back at home so…I guess I can start calling her Broken Wings."

-"Broken Wings? Huh…not bad."

"Not bad? I don't see you coming up with one." Sera says while punching Dusk's shoulder.

-"Well I'm naming my baby for what she is. The Adamantoise. Suits a giant metal can on tank treads and guns sticking out of it everywhere. Plus…I like turtles."

During the middle of the conversation, some of the other recruits start making their way over to the duo and an Asian girl with bright, red hot hair short hair starts to jog her way over to the guys.

"Hey guys! Congrats on graduating!"

-"Thanks, you too Remillia." Dusk says.

"It's Seraphin, right? I'm sorry, my commander and Dusk talk about you all the time. Apparently I have the same name as your like, what? Great great grandmother? Something like that?" The Japanese girl says excitedly.

-"That's right. How does a girl like you get that name?"

"Oh, I was adopted. A lot like you I hear." And Sera looks over at Dusk with a curious look.

-"Jeez, do you ever keep your mouth shut?"

"I'm sorry man, people we're asking how we knew each other and such. Besides, do you see how freakin cute she is?" He whispers over, partially covering his mouth so Remillia doesn't over hear.

"Well it's not going to matter much after this anyways, should be calling each other by our call signs am I right? I'm going with White Raven."

-"Really? Well Sera here is going with Archangel, I'm just Shadix from this point on."

"So where do you plan to operate out of, Remillia? We're shipping out to the Huge Canyon. We don't plan to leave the Northern Frontier."

-"Aww, that's too bad. I've already enrolled into a team. The S.O.S Brigade. They're coming to pick me and my AC up tomorrow before we head out to the Alpine region way up north. I heard it's pretty quiet up there for the most part, just really cold all the time."

"Yeah, total opposite of the desert but we're headed to the canyon for the same reason. I'm not much for lots and lots of people in one place."

-"Hence why you two secluded yourselves out here instead of being in there with the rest of us? What, think you're too good for us now?" Remillia says while making taunting gestures at Sera.

"No no, that's not it…"

-"Gosh, I'm kidding! Loosen up already, you're a Raven now!" she says while punching Sera's shoulder.

"So we all gotta ship out within the next two days. When are you guys planning to leave?"

-"Well I planned on getting a move on tonight actually so…unfortunately this will be the last time we'll see each other like this. Sorry we couldn't be introduced sooner though."

"Aww bummer. But that must mean you have a place set up already, which is great really." And as Remillia looks on, her, Sera and Dusk look on and catch the attention of a particular pilot staring in their direction at Sera with a ghoulish stare.

"What's that guy's problem?"

"Yeah, whose he? Did I step on that guys shoes or something on the way out the door?" And Remillia's face hardens with concern.

-"That guy, I don't know his real name but he's been calling himself Draco's I hear. He was the first Raven honored right before you two entered the assembly. People say he's REALLY good though. He hasn't even made a mistake on any of his tests, including his combat test. From what I hear, he's a real aggressive pilot and by the look on his face…it shows. But don't worry about that guy, you focus on getting situated out there. We'll I'm going to take off but hopefully we'll work together rather than be caught shooting at each other. Take care, Seraphin." Remillia says with a smile and walks off to her other friends.

"_Seraphin turns his back after saying his final goodbyes and Dusk soon follows as they headed into the locker room and change out of their graduation attire and into their casual clothing. While clearing out his locker, Seraphin comes across a note by the commander with a small key with instructions 'Section C, Box Ground-7'. As he makes his way to the postal area of the compound, he finds the location and uses the key in the located box closest to the ground and awaiting a small cardboard box. Upon opening the box, a note sits atop a strange, hand held item saying 'honor your past-Lucas A. Tristan'. As Seraphin picks it up, it looks more and more like a personal laser blade but can't quite make it. It's larger with strange openings at the top with a large fin stabilizing the bottom. It's extremely large compared to personal defense laser blades and requires both hands, but upon getting a proper grip, he activates the blade splitting the top apart and separating a secondary opening releasing a large, shining blue blade. Seraphin makes light swings with the large blade while the facility is total empty but when stopped, he can hear the almost pleasing hum generated by the blade. While looking in the box, he notices a large leather strap with a back holster for the blade and reads the back of the note left by his commander. "This weapon is a replica of the martian Moonlight laser blade. The same blade wielded by your father's AC. Be careful, it came from Mars." Seraphin stares off wondering if someone might be around to witness what was going on but after realizing he's truly the only one there, he retracts the blade and holsters it. Seraphin comes around the corner from the locker room in his black T-shirt and black leather jacket in dark blue jeans meeting up with Dusk." _

"What's that? It looks like a personal defense blade…but it's huge!"

-"It is actually. Commander Tristan got it for me. Don't know how but he did."

"I wish people liked me as much as they liked you."

-"Hah, they do buddy. In a lot of ways, more than me. It's just…"

"Just what?" Dusk replies as Sera looks away for a moment.

-"Don't worry about it. All that matters right now is getting to the canyon before the parts arrive. Scraps one thing but fresh out the factory parts ain't something you see every day on someone's front door ya'know."

"_The two men walk out into the garage staring up at machinery everywhere, sparks flying as mechanics and pilots alike working on their AC's. A crew of aircraft pilots then signal to them letting them know they have aircraft waiting to make the move for their AC's. Bag's in hand, the men signal to have their AC's moved; the first one on a large transport truck, a Tank model AC with large cannons and auto-cannons gasped moving out the garage and out to the runway. Following closely, a medium bipedal unit with rifles, battle rifles and a laser blade on its shoulder unit. Sera and Dusk follow the vehicles outside to the roaring of engines firing up and rotors picking up speed as they walk up the ramp and just as the door shuts to the large transport the two fist-pump and the transport chopper lifts off with the two AC's getting hauled off into the last moments of the sun setting behind the mountains and dark blue skies and clouds being the only opposition to the newest Raven's of the canyon." _


End file.
